Hardcore Isn’t Dead (Punk Still Is, Though)

I’m talking hardcore techno. ‘Ardkore. The sound of the mid-’90s electronic music scene, when ecstasy dreams gave way to amphetamine aggression and k-hole catastrophes. Hardcore birthed our beloved Jungle, and remains the bedrock upon which new amped-up electronic sounds are built. Hardcore was essential, but is now for most DJs and music fans a sound long since gone the way of nostalgia.

Hardcore isn’t dead for DJ Scud and Panacea, both respected purveyors of exactly the sort of music that evolved from hardcore: dark Jungle, gabber, breakcore, and so forth. As The Redeemer they’ve crafted the perfect hardcore homage album in Hardcore Owes Us Money, a loving tribute to the bygone sound despite its cocky name. Every cliche in the hardcore book is revisited, but with the clean room sterility of latter-day Jungle production and the influence of more recent musical and technological developments. A close listen to superb tracks like “Sound Killah” will reveal sampledelic nods like the “Hallelujah!” diva wail from the classic Happy Mondays rave anthem of the same name. Yet for all the retro references, tracks like “Pitbull” could seamlessly lie their rolling, growling bass in a mix with today’s jungle tracks.

Does that mean we haven’t come far from the ’ardkore days? Not necessarily. It just means that some good things never change.